I've been doing various events work this year, for some interesing and leading names in the web space.
As some of you may know, I helped found Chinwag as a commercial venture, which then went on to launch Chinwag Live series. We also did Big Summer 07 last year, which was a free party for over 2,000 people. Just 5 of us organised the whole thing, in 6 weeks. And I still have some hair left! ;-)
Then, earlier this year I was working with Mike Butcher at TechCrunchUK to help him kickstart some events in the UK and Europe. He's now jetting off all over the place meeting people and creating meet ups off the back of other events, as well as organising some really exciting ones of his own, such as the recent (very successful) Pitch! event.
Now I'm working at the Guardian, and looking into events as part of my research for my current role. Guardian events in the past have been on large scale, with a full events team organising events such as the Guardian brand at Glastonbury.
All these different types of event has got me thinking, what would be the best event you would want to go to? If you could combine all the aspects of events you've been to over the last few years, and come up with some almighty geek/tech/online/networking fest, what would it be like?
Mine would be something along the lines of, in priority order: Incredible speakers discussing their visions (not pimping their warez!), affordable pricing (I guess sub £100), good accessible venue in an interesting city, an exciting delegate list - perhaps one that's been thought out with tickets tactically released to ensure a wide range and spread of people, cool freebies/swag from sponsors, and great networking - be that at the venue or the pub down the road.
So come on, spill, what would your ideal conference/event look like? And while you're at it - I'd love to know what was your favourite event or conference you've been to this year, from a geek meet up in a pub right through to something like Le Web. It's whichever one left you with a "that was so cool I want to do it again next week!" feeling. The very first FOWA was mine.
As some of you may know, I helped found Chinwag as a commercial venture, which then went on to launch Chinwag Live series. We also did Big Summer 07 last year, which was a free party for over 2,000 people. Just 5 of us organised the whole thing, in 6 weeks. And I still have some hair left! ;-)
Then, earlier this year I was working with Mike Butcher at TechCrunchUK to help him kickstart some events in the UK and Europe. He's now jetting off all over the place meeting people and creating meet ups off the back of other events, as well as organising some really exciting ones of his own, such as the recent (very successful) Pitch! event.
Now I'm working at the Guardian, and looking into events as part of my research for my current role. Guardian events in the past have been on large scale, with a full events team organising events such as the Guardian brand at Glastonbury.
All these different types of event has got me thinking, what would be the best event you would want to go to? If you could combine all the aspects of events you've been to over the last few years, and come up with some almighty geek/tech/online/networking fest, what would it be like?
Mine would be something along the lines of, in priority order: Incredible speakers discussing their visions (not pimping their warez!), affordable pricing (I guess sub £100), good accessible venue in an interesting city, an exciting delegate list - perhaps one that's been thought out with tickets tactically released to ensure a wide range and spread of people, cool freebies/swag from sponsors, and great networking - be that at the venue or the pub down the road.
So come on, spill, what would your ideal conference/event look like? And while you're at it - I'd love to know what was your favourite event or conference you've been to this year, from a geek meet up in a pub right through to something like Le Web. It's whichever one left you with a "that was so cool I want to do it again next week!" feeling. The very first FOWA was mine.
.. and my what a statement he makes whilst doing it. He's posted an article on the Guardian website today about how he despises Facebook.
Some of it I whole heartedly agree with (lack of privacy, dubious future uses, possibilities for data use), and some of it, I'm not so sure (people can connect with all their friends without Facebook).
It's a long article, but well worth the read. The politics behind the board members (of which there are only 3) are some what worrying.
A couple of snippets to whet your appetite:
"... by his own admission, Thiel is trying to destroy the real world, which he also calls "nature", and install a virtual world in its place, and it is in this context that we must view the rise of Facebook. Facebook is a deliberate experiment in global manipulation, and Thiel is a bright young thing in the neoconservative pantheon, with a penchant for far-out techno-utopian fantasies. Not someone I want to help get any richer."
and
"Facebook's most recent round of funding was led by a company called Greylock Venture Capital, who put in the sum of $27.5m. One of Greylock's senior partners is called Howard Cox, another former chairman of the NVCA, who is also on the board of In-Q-Tel. What's In-Q-Tel? Well, believe it or not (and check out their website), this is the venture-capital wing of the CIA. After 9/11, the US intelligence community became so excited by the possibilities of new technology and the innovations being made in the private sector, that in 1999 they set up their own venture capital fund, In-Q-Tel, which "identifies and partners with companies developing cutting-edge technologies to help deliver these solutions to the Central Intelligence Agency and the broader US Intelligence Community (IC) to further their missions"."
Some of it I whole heartedly agree with (lack of privacy, dubious future uses, possibilities for data use), and some of it, I'm not so sure (people can connect with all their friends without Facebook).
It's a long article, but well worth the read. The politics behind the board members (of which there are only 3) are some what worrying.
A couple of snippets to whet your appetite:
"... by his own admission, Thiel is trying to destroy the real world, which he also calls "nature", and install a virtual world in its place, and it is in this context that we must view the rise of Facebook. Facebook is a deliberate experiment in global manipulation, and Thiel is a bright young thing in the neoconservative pantheon, with a penchant for far-out techno-utopian fantasies. Not someone I want to help get any richer."
and
"Facebook's most recent round of funding was led by a company called Greylock Venture Capital, who put in the sum of $27.5m. One of Greylock's senior partners is called Howard Cox, another former chairman of the NVCA, who is also on the board of In-Q-Tel. What's In-Q-Tel? Well, believe it or not (and check out their website), this is the venture-capital wing of the CIA. After 9/11, the US intelligence community became so excited by the possibilities of new technology and the innovations being made in the private sector, that in 1999 they set up their own venture capital fund, In-Q-Tel, which "identifies and partners with companies developing cutting-edge technologies to help deliver these solutions to the Central Intelligence Agency and the broader US Intelligence Community (IC) to further their missions"."
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